Adjustable bed for casket



Aug. 26, 1958 B. J. SLAUGHTER, JR., ETAL ADJUSTABLE BED FOR CASKET Filed 001;. 4, 1954 V 3 Sheets-Sheet 1 INVENTORS. 5ER/VARD J. SLAUGHTER, JR. BY VV/LL/AM VAN PELT B. J. SLAUGHTER, JR., ETAL 2,848,781

Aug. 26, 1958 ADJUSTABLE BED FOR CASKET 3 Sheets-Sheet 2 Filed Oct. 4, 1954 INVEN TORS.

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ADJUSTABLE BED FOR CASKET Filed 001:. 4, I954 3 Sheets-Sheet 3 72" 56 b L 52 id 7 5/ 5 53 By VWLL/AM [44H Par 2,848,781 Patented Aug. 26, 1958 United States Patent 055cc ADJUSTABLE BED FOR CASKET Bernard J. Slaughter, Jr., Cincinnati, Ohio, and William Van Pelt, Ludlow, Ky., assignors to The Crane & Breed Casket Company, Cincinnati, Ohio, 21 corporation of Ohio Application October 4, 1954, Serial No. 460,022

Claims. (Cl. 2712) lowered at either or both ends and which can be tilted from one side to the other so that a corpse thereon may be properly displayed.

A further object of this invention is to provide a corpse-supporting bed of this type having independently adjustable supports at the head and foot thereof so that the head and foot of the bed may be raised or lowered independently.

A further object is to provide a device of this type having end supports so constructed and arranged that either end of the bed may be tilted about its longitudinal axis to selected angular positions with respect to the other end.

A further object of this invention is to provide a bedsupporting structure for a casket which is of simple and economical construction, and is sufiiciently strong and durable to permit ready adjustment thereof.

A further object of the invention is to provide a pivotal support for an end of a casket bed having a brake arrangement for holding the bed-end in predetermined positions of angular adjustment.

The above and other objects and features of the invention will in part be apparent and will in part be obvious to those of ordinary skill in the art to which this invention pertains from the following detailed description and the drawings, in which:

Fig. 1 is a fragmentary top plan view of a casket and a bed therefor provided with supports for the bed arranged and constructed in accordance with an embodiment of this invention;

Fig. 2 is a view in longitudinal section of one end of a casket body provided with one of the casket bed supports shown in Fig. 1;

Fig. 3 is a view in section taken on the line IIII1l in Fig. 2;

Fig. 4 is a view in and elevation of the casket bed;

Fig. 5 is a view in section taken on the line VV in Fig. 3;

Fig. 6 is a fragmentary view in section taken on line VIVI in Fig. 4;

Fig. 7 is a plan view of a casket bed-supporting structure constructed in accordance with another embodiment of this invention;

Fig. 8 is a view in front elevation thereof; and

Fig. 9 is a view in front elevation of a blank from which one of the plates of the structure illustrated in Figs. 7 and 8 is formed.

in the following detailed description, and the drawings, like reference characters indicate like parts.

In Fig. l a casket body 10 provided with a bed 11 is shown. The bed is supported at its ends by supports 12 and 13.

The casket body 10 is provided with an inwardly directed rim 13 (Fig. 2) and with a base or floor portion 14 connected together by side wall 15. The rim 13' and floor 14 support bearings 16 and 18, respectively in which a jack screw 19 is rotatably mounted. The screw 19 forms a part of support 12. A similar screw 20 (Fig. 1) at the other end of the casket body forms a part of support 13 and co-operates with screw 19 to support the casket bed 11.

As indicated in Fig. 1, the casket bed 11 includes suitable side frame members 23 and 24 and end frame members 26 and 28, which are riveted together to form a rectangular framework. As shown in Fig. 4, end frame member 28 is provided with slots 31 and 32 for receiving bed-supporting lugs 33 and 34 (Fig. 1), respectively. End frame member 26 is provided with similar slots (not shown) for receiving lugs 35 and 35. The frame-members carry suitable spring-supported straps 36 on which the corpse is supported.

The lugs 33 and 34 are mounted on a pivot plate 37. The pivot plate 37 is rotatably mounted on a pivot pin or rivet 38. The pivot pin 38 also extends through a brake lining member 39 and through a non-rotating brake plate 41 so that plate 37 can turn on pin 38 with respect to plate 41. As shown, the pivot is substantially coincident with'the longitudinal axis of the bed, and the pivot plate 37 is closely spaced from and substantially parallel to the adjacent end of the bed.

The non-rotating brake plate 41 is elongated and is welded or otherwise firmly attached to a pair of spaced traveling nuts 43 and 43'. The nuts 43 and 43 are mounted on the jack screw 19 at one end of the bed. As shown in Fig. 1, the jack screw 19 is provided with a socket 19 in the head thereof in which a tool may be received for use in turning the jack screw to raise and lower the end of the bed. Similarly, a non-rotating plate '41 (Fig. 1) at the other end of the bed is welded to a similar pair of traveling nuts, only one of which is shown and indicated at 143. The said last mentioned pair of nuts can be mounted on jack screw 20 in a similar manner so that the other end of the bed can be raised or lowered similarly.

As shown in Fig. 3, the pivot plate 37 is provided with an arcuate slot 44. The slot 44 is substantially concentric with the pivot of pivot plate 37. A bolt 46 extends through the slot 44 and through openings 46 and 46 in the non-rotatable plate 41 and in the brake lining member 19, respectively. A Wing nut 47 is mounted on the bolt 46. When the wing nut is tightened, the brake lining member is clamped between the plates 41 and 37, and the end of the bed mounted on plate 37 is held or locked against turning. However, when the wing nut 47 is loosened, that end of the bed can be swung within the limits permitted by the slot 44. In a similar manner, the other end of the bed may be held against turning by a wing nut 47' (Fig. 1) or may be released to turn for ready adjustment.

The bed of the casket illustrated in the drawings, and described above, may be raised or lowered as a unit by turning jack screws at both ends in unison. If desired, one end of the bed may be raised or lowered independently of the other end by turning the appropriate jack screw. As one end of the bed is raised or lowered, the lugs 33, 34, 35 and 35' can slide into or out of the slots in the ends of the casket bed, and the end of the bed can tilt with respect to the lugs.

In Figs. 7 and 8 a modified support 50 is shown. The support 50 includes a pivot plate 51, a non-rotating plate 52, and a brake lining member 53 therebetween. The plates 51 and 52 and brake lining member 53 are mounted on a pivot pin 54, and plate 51 can pivot with respect to plate 52 within limits permitted by a slot 56 and a bolt 57.

The plate 52 is formed from a blank 58 (Fig. 9) hav ing a central opening 59, for receiving the pivot pin, and

Auxiliary opening 61 is between a pair of slots 63 and 64, and opening 62 is between a similar pair of slots 66 and 67. The slots extend inwardly from upper and lower edges of the blank to form tabs 68 and 69. The tabs 68 and 69 are folded along fold lines indicated in dotted lines at 71 and 72, respectively, to form the nuts 73 and 74 of plate 52. The openings 61 and 62 are threaded to receive a jack screw (not shown) on which the support may be mounted.

The bed may be turned or swung to one side to improve the angle of display of a corpse on the bed. If desired, the head end of the bed may be swung to a different angle from the foot end, to permit the head end of a corpse (not shown) on the casket bed to be better displayed. For this purpose, the framework of the casket bed may be slightly flexible to permit bending thereof as one end is turned with respect to the other.

The casket bed construction illustrated in the drawings and described above is subject to structural modification without departing from the spirit and scope of the appended claims.

Having described our invention, what we claim as new, and desire to secure by Letters Patent is:

1. A support for a casket bed, one such support being provided at each end, said support comprising a vertical screw adapted to be rotatably supported at the end of the casket adjacent the end of the bed, an elongated plate provided with spaced nuts for receiving said screw and registering with the threads thereof, a second plate having means for pivotally securing the same to the first plate, said pivot means being substantially coincident with the longitudinal axis of the bed, a friction member between said plates, said second plate having means for supporting the adjacent end of the bed thereon, said second plate being rotatable relative to the first plate whereby the bed may be adjusted transversely, and means for drawing the second plate toward the first plate to clamp the same against the friction member and hold the bed in its transversely adjusted position, one end of said bed being vertically adjustable byturning said screw.

2. A support for one of the ends of a casket bed, said support comprising a vertical screw adapted to be rotatably supported at an end of the casket adjacent one end of the casket bed, a plate having a nut mounted thereon, thenut receiving the screw and registering with the threads thereof, a second plate parallel to and pivotally mounted on the first mentioned plate, the pivot being substantially coincident with the longitudinal axis of the bed, a friction member between the plates, a pair of spaced substantially horizontal lugs on said second plate and extending toward the adjacent end of the casket bed, the adjacent end of the casket bed'having spaced slots slidably receiving said lugs, said second plate being rotatable relative to the first plate, whereby the bed may be adjusted transversely, the lugs and bed tilting and sliding with respect to each other as the end of the bed is raised or lowered when the screw is turned, the bed end and the second plate swinging on the pivot, and means for drawing the second plate toward the first mentioned plate to clamp the plates against the friction member and hold the bed in transversely adjusted position.

3. Mechanism for adjusting the bed of a casket which comprises an elevating screw adapted to be mounted at one end of the casket body, an upright plate having a traveling nut mounted thereon, the nut receiving the screw and registering with the threads thereof, a second plate parallel to and pivotally mounted on the first mentioned plate, a friction member between the plates, means on the second plate for supporting an end of the bed, said second plate being rotatable relative to the first plate, whereby the bed maybe adjusted transversely, and means for drawing the second plate toward the first plate to clamp the plates against the friction member for holding the bed in transversely adjusted position.

4. An adjustable support for a casket bed which comprises an elevating screw adapted to be mounted within a casket at one end of the bed, a plate mounted on the elevating screw to be raised and lowered thereby, a sec end plate parallel to the first mentioned plate, means for pivotally connecting the plates, the second mentioned plate having means for supporting the adjacent end of the bed, a friction member between the plates, the second plate being vertically movable with the first plate and being rotatable on said pivot means, and means for drawing the plates towards each other to releasably secure the second plate to prevent turning thereof on the pivot means.

5. A casket bed support comprising an elevating screw rotatably mounted in the casket at one end of the bed, a non-rotating plate coacting with the screw for raising and lowering the plate, a pivot plate attached to the bed, pivot means connecting the non-rotating plate and the pivot plate, one of said plates having a perforation, the axis of said perforation extending in a plane parallel to the axis of said pivot means, the other of said plates having an arcuate perforation the center of curvature of which arcuate perforation is common to the axis of said pivot means,

said arcuate perforation being aligned with the perforation in the other of said plates, and a wing nut assembly comprising a perforate friction element, a screw element extending through the perforations in both of the plates and in the friction element and having a head in engagement upon one of the plates, and a nut adapted to clamp the plates and friction element upon one another for securing the bed in adjusted angular relation to the casket.

References Cited in the file of this patent UNITED STATES PATENTS 1,967,595 Schmitt July 24, 1934 2,647,676 Napiecinski Aug. 4, 1953 2,670,517 Hillenbrand et al Mar. 2, 1954 warm as. a, 

